As you may recall, I'm not a big Thor fan. It's the costume. Still, I consider it my duty as a Marvel Comics fan to bring you this trailer from Thor: The Dark World, which hits U.S. theaters on Nov. 8. The action isn't quite as exciting as the slam-bang stuff that happens in the Iron Man 3trailers, but it sure does look like Thor's Earth-bound lady love Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) ends up in a heap o' danger when the superhero takes her on what looks like an impromptu journey to Asgard and, perhaps, doesn't guard her ass enough. more »

There's an interview with Robert Downey Jr. in Collider that's got me thinking about the actors in Marvel's very lucrative superhero stable. When the website's Steve "Frosty" Weintraub asked the actor if he's going to sign on for several more Marvel movies or take them "one at a time", Downey responded that he wasn't sure but then added candidly: "Let’s just say that me, the agents and the lawyers are having a bit of a ball right now." more »

The first, explosive, action-packed trailer for the notoriously delayed Red Dawn remake is a time capsule in more ways than one: Not only does it lay on nods to the gloriously cheesy 1984 original, it features three-years-ago Chris Hemsworth before he packed on all that Thor muscle AND cute little Josh Hutcherson before he made it to the big time with The Hunger Games gig. Kids with guns vs. evil Chinese North Koreans after the jump.more »

Also in Friday morning's round-up of news briefs, China is readying a simultaneous roll-out of Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises; a rundown of new titles in an otherwise quiet weekend for new specialty releases. And highlights from the upcoming HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood.more »

You might guess most folks flocking to theaters this weekend for Snow White and the Huntsman are the legions of diehard fans of Twilight's Kristen Stewart, who stars in the fantasy adventure as the sword-swinging Snow White. Maybe, even, they'll come for co-star Chris Hemsworth — he of Thor and Avengers fame. But surprise, surprise — who'd have thought the big draw, at least for folks who hit opening day today, would be neither of SWATH's up-and-coming talent?more »

Why can’t heroines just be heroines anymore, instead of micromanaged personalities who may as well have the words “Role Model” tattooed across their foreheads? That’s the fate suffered by poor Kristen Stewart as the warrior princess athlete orphan Christ figure Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman. She’s not just Joan of Arc — she’s Joan of Archetypes.more »

The Avengers is less a movie than a novelization of itself, an oversized, self-aware picture designed mostly for effect: That of reliving the experience of a movie you’ve seen before and just can’t get enough of. The picture is broken down into narrative chunks that ultimately don’t tell much of a story – what you get instead is a series of mini-climaxes held together by banter between characters. The idea, maybe, is that people already love Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor so much — like, so, so much — that all a filmmaker really needs to do is put them all into a big stock pot filled with elaborate set pieces and some knowing dialogue and he’s golden. And maybe, given the heightened-lowered expectations of movie audiences, that really is all he has to do: It's possible to have looked forward to a movie all year, to enjoy watching it, and then to have completely forgotten about it the following week.more »

In honor of today's horror extravaganza Cabin in the Woods, pen a masterful horror-themed haiku and you could win a bounty of Cabin swag! Included in the grand prize: A Cabin t-shirt, a signed poster, the visualization "movie tie-in" book, the novelization (so you can understand the twists and turns and surprises at hand), and your very own Cabin in the Woods expanding bong (to, um, help you expand your mind and grasp what writer-producer Joss Whedon and director Drew Goddard are doing in this ultra meta-horror send-up). [UPDATE 4/16, 9:30 a.m. ET: The deadline has moved up! Read on for details...]more »

The cast of Marvel’s The Avengers were a spirited bunch Thursday in Beverly Hills, where the familial vibe amongst the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Samuel Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Mark Ruffalo was evident and mutual admiration, inside jokes, and startling revelations abounded. (Scarlett Johansson, alas, was absent due to a scheduling conflict.) Among the highlights: Ruffalo’s youthful Hulk inspiration, Jeremy Renner’s suggestive Hawkeye imagery (“[I] played with Thor’s hammer while he stroked my bow”), and one mysterious, maybe-still legit admission from Downey that the assembled Avengers would be filming a scene… that night. But, pray tell: Which Avenger possesses the best Dance Dance Revolution skills? SPOILERS AHEAD.more »

When I was in college, I once went on a weekend trip with my two roommates to Cape Cod, where someone had scrounged up a summer home belonging to a family friend who was willing to let us stay for a few days. The owners were in the middle of renovating the place, so instead of windows there were just sheets of plastic that bulged in and out with the wind. Half the rooms didn't have electricity, and we had to go to the tap outside to get water — but hey, someone was letting us stay in their house in a scenic location far from our shabby apartment near campus, and for free. No one was complaining.more »

It may be indicative of Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders’ fearlessness – or his newness, this being his feature debut – that, after presenting much-anticipated footage to fans yesterday at WonderCon, he nonchalantly dropped the vivid phrase “dwarf gangbangs” into a discussion about his dark (and yes, likely PG-13) allegorical fairytale actioner. (Now that’s how you get the attention of a certain demographic.) For the record, there are no such scenarios in June's action-packed SWATH, but there were many more revelations and key insights to be had into Sanders’ take on the age-old tale, which stars Twilight’s Kristen Stewart and debuts two months after that other Snow White movie dances into theaters.more »